In the Mix with Aaliyah Miller

A six word blog, not exactly, but I will some up my 2014 in six words. All roads seem to lead me back to NPR and it should be no surprise that this blog was inspired by National Public Radio (NPR) . It plays such an integral role as one of my main sources for news, media and stories that keep me informed and entertained. Shout out to my mom for turning me on to my local NPR station, WNPR . While there are a number of shows that I love to listen , here's my short list. They include All Things Considered , Car Talk, Fresh Air, Radio Lab , Latino USA, and local programs like Where We Live , and The Colin McEnroe Show , but this blog is inspired by journalist Michelle Norris ' project Welcome to The Race Card Project . The project asks individuals to sum up their feelings about race in six words. People from all across our nation have taken up the challenge and shared their candid feelings about race in America. Listening to others share their personal feelings about race was...

The holidays are still a couple of weeks away, but the folks at YouTube are already out with their 2014 Rewind. The video gives the viewer a nice little highlight of 2014's "pop culture" buzz. Considering most attention spans these days, it feels a bit long, but the music and celebrity cameos make it fun to watch. Instead of a rewind I tend to be more reflective about the activities in my life and the impact they have. I look for the game changers. However, I like the YouTube 2014 Rewind approach because it reminds me to keep it fresh, fun, and that some good things did happen in 2014. Besides, we can always use some entertainment and a good laugh.  When I rewind 2014 here are a few of the moments I really enjoyed: Adopting Billy Getting a new job with Aetna Receiving my second masters from Gonzaga's Communication and Leadership Program Publishing my thesis,  " A Post-Femin ist Look At HBO’s Girls: A Critical Analysis of Character, Career, Gender,...

It's officially a week since the big Black Friday shopping extravaganza. I don't know about you, but I was disappointed by the Black Friday deals this year. I'm not sure if it's because it seems like we gear up for holidays earlier and earlier each year allowing retailers to stretch out their deals. While Black Friday isn't an official holiday, that fact that it comes right after Thanksgiving and leads us into the Christmas shopping season has me feeling like we should make it one. I don't need a large screen T.V., a new car (not yet) or other big ticket items and I didn't feel like hitting the stores after I stuffed myself with a fabulous holiday dinner. Thanks Nat! I'm not a morning person either, so you won't catch me waking up at four a.m. to stand in lines to hit the stores at five a.m. Not happening. I did it a couple of years ago and while I was happy with my purchases I'm not sure it was worth the gas and time I put into it. The...